Kooij also adds Porec Trophy to palmares

Olav Kooij has won the Porec Trophy. The young rider from the Jumbo-Visma Development Team proved to be the fastest of the peloton in a bunch sprint. It was the second time this week that Kooij celebrated a victory after having won the Umag Trophy on Wednesday.

Several small breakaways hardly made a difference. The Jumbo-Visma Development Team made a number of attempts to force a break in the peloton, but the men of sports director Robert Wagner were also unable to pull away from the large group. In the final, Kooij was put in a good position by his teammates. Subsequently he won the fourth race for the Jumbo-Visma Development Team of the season.

Kooij is happy with his second victory of the season. “With a second place in the Ster van Zwolle and a victory in the Umag Trophy, my start to the season was already good, but this win makes it even better. The race was a bit tougher than Umag, but not tough enough to break the peloton. In the end it was a sprint in which my teammates helped me well. We were leading the peloton early, but they persisted for a very long time. After that, I only had to sprint."

“We believed it was possible today”, Wagner said. “The climb was just not long enough to make a difference, after which we tried to put Olav in good position for the sprint. The last kilometre and a half went up. This was a very fair sprint. Olav won with a big difference and he again showed that he has fast legs. Whether I am surprised that he can do this? Yes and no. We already saw what he can do at training camp, but a race is different. This is really good for a first-year U23 rider.”

Jumbo-Visma Development Team had planned to compete in the Istrian Spring Trophy in Croatia with another selection, but due to the coronavirus crisis, the team has decided not to.